Amy - 'People just look at the surface. They only see the chaos, but they don’t ask why there is chaos.'
“I realised a lot of people around me are really angry. There’s a guy who sits next to me at work who gets really upset, but that’s all... There’s no point in being angry by yourself. You’re not helping anyone; you’re just making yourself unhappy. When I realised that, I started becoming more active.”
Being neutral is siding with the oppressor. You’re standing there, and saying, “All this has nothing to do with me, and I don’t like violence.” I think that’s b******t.
Growing up, my family wasn’t big on politics; we didn’t even watch the news at home. I considered myself apolitical. I studied science, and politics seemed complicated to me. Science was tangible and concrete, whilst politics was something people dreamt up. Even when my friend asked me to go to the Umbrella Movement, I told them, “No, that sounds dangerous, plus my mum wouldn’t like it”. I knew the people were asking for democracy in 2014, but I didn’t see how it would relate to me.
Then, on the 12 Jun, when police used excessive force against the students that were protesting, I was really shocked. I saw videos online, and these videos affected me a lot. So I joined the 2 million march to protest against the extradition bill. It was my first ever protest. I’d never joined any of the other ones before, not even the 4 June vigils. I found the experience very interesting - it's so cool to be among all these people who had the same vision and one purpose. I was still very much a ‘light yellow ribbon’* . But as the conflict continued, I saw how the government failed to react and how much the younger people were willing to fight for their beliefs. My viewpoint slowly shifted (towards being more 'yellow').
I realised a lot of people around me are really angry. There’s a guy who sits next to me at work who gets really upset, but that’s all. Does he do anything about it? No. Does he help in any way? No. Does he participate in any of the protests? No. There’s no point in being angry by yourself. You’re not helping anyone; you’re just making yourself unhappy. When I realised that, I started becoming more active.
I started helping out with the Lennon Walls - printing out posters and putting them up. A lot of people might not be able to do it all by themselves as it might be dangerous, so I join to add to the headcount. The funny thing is, when we’re working, most passersby say “Ga yau! (Add oil!)” or “Sun fu sai. (Thank you for your hard work.)”
I also joined groups that sponsor frontliners, which is important because most of these frontliners are merely 16 to 19 year-old teens. We pool our money together so they don’t go hungry. Many of them got cut off financially from their parents, which I think is ridiculous. Why would you listen to the government instead of your own child? You'd rather see your own child starve because they’re fighting for what they believe is right? And you only listen to the government, who, if you look around at society, hasn’t done much for us. Housing prices are through the roof, living expenses are high, and whenever we talk about all these political issues, their only response is, “Oh, we’ll talk about it” instead of doing anything. And, they always bring up the economy. I’m sorry, but that’s the economic cycle. We’re due for a recession already - why are you blaming this on the protestors?
A lot of people, especially overseas, don’t understand why we’re still fighting. Isn’t the extradition bill 'dead'? They don’t ask why we didn’t want the bill. People just look at the surface. They only see the chaos, but they don’t ask why there is chaos.
We want freedom, we want to be free to have our own political standpoints. People shouldn’t get arrested for political reasons. That is what is happening right now in Hong Kong. So does it matter if the bill is withdrawn at this point? No! China is setting up a police state in Hong Kong that incites fear upon its people; that silences anyone who doesn’t agree with them.
If you think being a frontliner is too dangerous, there are a lot of other great initiatives out there for whoever wants to help. There are frontliners, yes, but there are many others who play a lot of other different types of roles.
There’s one thing I remember as a child, the saying that goes, “First they came for the socialists, then they came for the trade unionists, then they came for the Jews - until finally, they come for you, and at last you look around and there’s no one left to speak up for you". People should really remember that.
The time to act is now.
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* ‘yellow ribbon' is a colloquial term for people who support the movement and are against the excessive use of force by the police; 'light' means a slight tendency towards being the said political opinion
Journalists: Ka Yan
Graphic: Tendarken